London Level 6, 125 Old Broad St London EC2N 1AR United Kingdom +44 (0)20 3059 5765 +44 (0)20 3192 5577 fax

New York 88 Pine Street, 3rd Fl. New York, New York 10005 United States 1 212 363 9620 1 212 363 9630 fax alacra.com

  FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

New York, NY, 11 June 2001....Data Downlink Corporation, a privately held global provider of business and financial information, announced the change of its corporate name and brand identity to Alacra, Inc., effective immediately. The company’s portfolio of service offerings, which includes the business search engine Portal BÔ and its premium database service, .xls, will be packaged as Alacra and available to users under that name beginning July 10, 2001 (www.alacra.com).

"Our change to Alacra represents much more than a new name," said Steven Goldstein, CEO of Alacra, Inc. "Five years since our founding, we have evolved from a mere provider of other publishers’ data to a primary source of varied information solutions for more than 750 financial institutions and professional services firms around the world. We have developed tremendous expertise in packaging business information to specifically meet our customers’ needs. Our new brand identity reflects this evolution."

Substantive Service Changes

Indicative of substantive changes to the company’s offerings, Alacra has also introduced Alacra Book, a Web-based publishing platform that quickly collects and packages business information from multiple sources into a single PDF document. Alacra Book is intended for use by investment banks, law firms, consultancies and other corporations in the daily preparation of Public Information Books (aka PIBs) and other presentations. Accessible via the Internet or a company’s Intranet, Alacra Book reduces to fewer than 10 minutes a critical compilation task that historically has required multiple staff hours.

The Alacra business search engine, previously known as Portal B, has been greatly enhanced as well. Now called Alacra (www.alacra.com), the sophisticated online search service has far greater functionality in finding and sorting results, puts information together in more meaningful ways and is easier to use than the Portal B service the company launched one year ago.

“Alacra has built a reputation as a provider of innovative and high-quality business information services,” said Martin White, Managing Director of Intranet Focus Ltd. “This new name and inclusive offering will enable the company to build on this reputation and rapidly expand its client base.”

Corporate Milestones, Customers Lead to Change

Several corporate milestones during the last year led up to the change. Since May 2000 the company has built its customer base to 750 corporations worldwide; launched the business search engine Portal B; added several key management executives; and added substantial premium content to its services from many leading providers.

Goldstein indicated that more than any other factor, the company’s close interaction with its client base impacted the decision to alter its brand identity. “We are in the business of enhancing and delivering business information from many sources to a wide range of corporations,” Goldstein said. “As such, we saw room for improvement on how we package and present our own offering to the marketplace. As Alacra, we are now one brand, consistent in substance and appearance throughout our entire, diverse service portfolio, and thus more approachable and useful to our customers.”

Company officials noted that the term “Alacra” derives from the word “alacrity,” which indicates readiness and promptness in response. The red box featured in its new service mark indicates a complete, well-packaged collection of important information.

About Alacra, Inc.
Alacra, Inc. is a leading global provider of business and financial information. A privately-held company founded in 1996 as Data Downlink Corporation, Alacra is based in New York City and London. The company provides a diverse portfolio of fast, sophisticated online and offline services that allow users to quickly find, analyze, package and present mission critical business information. Its customers include more than 750 leading financial institutions; management consulting, law and accounting firms; and other corporations throughout the world. For more information about Alacra, visit the company’s website at http://www.alacra.com or call Alacra 44 (0)20 3059 5765 in London or 1 212 363 9620 in New York.

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